I know some of you like other worlds but I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in 1983 (I'm 47). Grayhawk is my home and when it went away I still sent my kids there for summer vacations. I raised them in 3.0 and 3.5 and now my daughter plays that finder version. My generation pays the bill - it's our nostalgia, our love for the game that keeps this alive - at least in my humble opinion. We spread Dungeons and Dragons across the world. During the 90's we kept it going into the 00's. We will most likely play DnD in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. I shelled out for the core three books for each edition - and a lot more in fifth edition.
Forgotten Realms appeared in 1987. I owned the box set and I like it as a place to visit (Ed and Eliminster are awful nice fellows, but I like Gary and Mordikanian and the old place where I first meet Gary Gygax) and I think out of respect you all should bring the old girl back. A 500 page book on the world of Oreth, with the castle and all. Please hurry! My generation only has another maybe 35 years or so of conscious mind to play. After that we are drooling in our PJ's trying to remember how to roll dice!
I love learning about the new worlds, so I second this! Would love a UA for it at the very least.
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A professional engineer and amateur writer who has played D&D since 2015 (started with 5e) and has been a DM more than a player. When I'm not playing god I'm usually your friendly neighborhood rogue.
As always, Greyhawk suffers from its fandom. Nothing and no-one will ever be good enough to write an update for it. Even Holian I believe copped a lot of flak and he stayed pretty faithful to the core of the setting.
It would be nice, but I don't ever see it happening.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
As for material on Greyhawk, there was all that Living Greyhawk stuff for 8 years. And while most of it is inaccessible because it wasn't fully purchased, there is still a decent amount that was, and is available via the Living Greyhawk Journal in back issues of Dragon Magazine and the archives.
I grew up during the Greyhawk Era and loved 1e, but nothing has really done it justice since Gygax had his paws on the thing. While I loved it, I think it needs to be put to rest and live on in the hearts and minds of DMs that homebrew it in their own campaigns.
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Host of the Pocket Mimic Podcast, a D&D 5e Show! Join us and listen in as we build a new world step by step! (http://Pocketmimic.com) DMs vs PCs! All DMs are evil | ENnie Award Winner | OSR style in a 5e world |1000+ character souls taken | 25+ yrs exp Remember to hit the thanks button, if you feel my info was useful, it helps me know I've provided helpful information and know I'm on the right track.
I grew up during the Greyhawk Era and loved 1e, but nothing has really done it justice since Gygax had his paws on the thing.
IMO, Carl Sargent's additions, including the unpublished Ivid the Undying, were the greatest parts of Greyhawk. But that seems to be an unpopular opinion amongst GH fans and the attitude that only Gygax can do it justice is exactly what prevents it from ever happening.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
I grew up during the Greyhawk Era and loved 1e, but nothing has really done it justice since Gygax had his paws on the thing.
IMO, Carl Sargent's additions, including the unpublished Ivid the Undying, were the greatest parts of Greyhawk. But that seems to be an unpopular opinion amongst GH fans and the attitude that only Gygax can do it justice is exactly what prevents it from ever happening.
They were good to be honest and that's the closest thing that's come to what once was GH. BUT I do think its time to move on and create new settings, and new ideas. I dont need Wotc rehashing what is already out there. I want new stuff, they have a ton of talented writers, let's see what those writers come up with.
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Host of the Pocket Mimic Podcast, a D&D 5e Show! Join us and listen in as we build a new world step by step! (http://Pocketmimic.com) DMs vs PCs! All DMs are evil | ENnie Award Winner | OSR style in a 5e world |1000+ character souls taken | 25+ yrs exp Remember to hit the thanks button, if you feel my info was useful, it helps me know I've provided helpful information and know I'm on the right track.
Biggest problem with settings is getting people to purchase them. I think part of this is that so much information has been published that old players don't need to buy new stuff, new players need the old stuff but can't afford to buy and read that many books.
I've always found the problem with running in a published setting is players being very familiar with the world while as a DM being less familiar than those who have played longer than I've been alive. Because of this I tend to go with my own worlds where I feel more in control rather than published worlds where I might write away all the books making them useless while PCs complain about their favorite characters not being around or completely different than how they should be
I feel like a lot of people share this making setting books sell a lot less as most people shy away from them and a lot of their content is seen as only existing in that world and becomes not playable as a result in a lot of campaigns.
Probably the biggest proponent of Oerth/Greyhawk was Erik Mona. His Oerth Journals built upon the Gygax/Sargent materials and kept the setting updated in the dark days of 2E when Greyhawk was in Limbo. Oerth Journal Downloads . CanonFire kept the torch going after Mona moved on to create Paizo. CanonFire Mona's love the setting manifested most directly in the pages of Dragon and Dungeon Magazines when Paizo was publishing them. The Age of Worms Adventure Path in Dungeon, circa 2005-2006, was pure Greyhawk bliss. The last official WotC Greyhawk publication was Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawkin 2007. Incidentally that was the last WotC product I bought until the 5E PHB seven years later. Of course, Mona won't be touching Greyhawk ever again with that whole Pathfinder/Starfinder/Creepfinder thing going.
Toril, the Forgotten Realms, once the continents on the other side of Oerth, will forever be the default world of Dungeons and Dragons. The setting has too much material, be it novels, video games, or shelves of source material going back to 1987. It is easily approachable for new players and filled with enough fantastical things to truly be a magical setting. Oerth, more precisely, the Flanaess, is too drab to grab the attention of most gamers. The setting focuses more on mundane issues. Drow, draconians, er, dragonborn, and tieflings are not going to be bumping elbows with each other at the roadside inn. (THANK BEORY!) The roadside inn is going to have more tension when the Suloise travelers arrive while the local Oeridian stock mumble that the Scarlet Assassins have arrived. *head scratch* Come on new players, isn't that AWESOME sounding? No? Okay, how about a fuddy-duddy wizard rip-off of Gandalf and skycastle, no, SKY CITIES, along with friendly dark elves and dinosaur people!!! A city built on an giant dungeon? Woot! It's adventure time.
I am resigned that Greyhawk's treatment going forward will be a token handful of paragraphs suggesting how to import a published 5E product to Oerth. That's fine. My version of Oerth is likely very different than Mona's or AnneHouse's and that's the way I like it. I don't have to worry about someone pulling out Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, circa 1993, and arguing with me my placement of an inn in Waterdeep in not correct (really happened, last time I ever ran FR btw). Greyhawk/Oerth has enough unique iconic items that I can still use them and people will recognize it's a Greyhawk game, not the Realms. Unless WotC puts White Plume Mountain in the Realms with the Yawning Portal product. Or Acererak's death dungeon is now on the Sword Coast. In that case, *expletive deleted* you, WotC.
Alright, kudos to WotC for not white-washing the Greyhawk history of the adventures in the Yawning Portal release. Curse words rescinded and bonus points for mentioning the The Green Dragon Inn in the Free City of Greyhawk...and seeing "Baklunish" printed in a new product. It's the simple things for Greyhawk anymore.
I've predominantly played in FR, but I've taken a strong liking to Greyhawk recently. I think I just want to try something new, setting-wise, for my players. I've been looking at Pathfinder's Golarion, too (though it loses some charm because it, like FR, is very fleshed out in a sense).
I do have a question for any GH experts though -- what are the most fantastical elements/places/features of Greyhawk?
I know some of you like other worlds but I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in 1983 (I'm 47). Grayhawk is my home and when it went away I still sent my kids there for summer vacations. I raised them in 3.0 and 3.5 and now my daughter plays that finder version. My generation pays the bill - it's our nostalgia, our love for the game that keeps this alive - at least in my humble opinion. We spread Dungeons and Dragons across the world. During the 90's we kept it going into the 00's. We will most likely play DnD in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. I shelled out for the core three books for each edition - and a lot more in fifth edition.
Forgotten Realms appeared in 1987. I owned the box set and I like it as a place to visit (Ed and Eliminster are awful nice fellows, but I like Gary and Mordikanian and the old place where I first meet Gary Gygax) and I think out of respect you all should bring the old girl back. A 500 page book on the world of Oreth, with the castle and all. Please hurry! My generation only has another maybe 35 years or so of conscious mind to play. After that we are drooling in our PJ's trying to remember how to roll dice!
I love learning about the new worlds, so I second this! Would love a UA for it at the very least.
A professional engineer and amateur writer who has played D&D since 2015 (started with 5e) and has been a DM more than a player. When I'm not playing god I'm usually your friendly neighborhood rogue.
As always, Greyhawk suffers from its fandom. Nothing and no-one will ever be good enough to write an update for it. Even Holian I believe copped a lot of flak and he stayed pretty faithful to the core of the setting.
It would be nice, but I don't ever see it happening.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
What's the last thing we've seen, Greyhawk-wise? The Vecna Lives and Die, Vecna, Die adventures? Has there been any update to the setting after that?
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Really hoping for a 5ed supplement about Greyhawk.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
So, 17 years ago? That doesn't bode well.
⬐ If you thought I added value to the conversation, please let me know!
As for material on Greyhawk, there was all that Living Greyhawk stuff for 8 years. And while most of it is inaccessible because it wasn't fully purchased, there is still a decent amount that was, and is available via the Living Greyhawk Journal in back issues of Dragon Magazine and the archives.
I grew up during the Greyhawk Era and loved 1e, but nothing has really done it justice since Gygax had his paws on the thing. While I loved it, I think it needs to be put to rest and live on in the hearts and minds of DMs that homebrew it in their own campaigns.
Host of the Pocket Mimic Podcast, a D&D 5e Show! Join us and listen in as we build a new world step by step! (http://Pocketmimic.com)
DMs vs PCs! All DMs are evil | ENnie Award Winner | OSR style in a 5e world |1000+ character souls taken | 25+ yrs exp
Remember to hit the thanks button, if you feel my info was useful, it helps me know I've provided helpful information and know I'm on the right track.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
⬐ If you thought I added value to the conversation, please let me know!
Host of the Pocket Mimic Podcast, a D&D 5e Show! Join us and listen in as we build a new world step by step! (http://Pocketmimic.com)
DMs vs PCs! All DMs are evil | ENnie Award Winner | OSR style in a 5e world |1000+ character souls taken | 25+ yrs exp
Remember to hit the thanks button, if you feel my info was useful, it helps me know I've provided helpful information and know I'm on the right track.
Anna Meyer, for those who dont know, makes some incredible Greyhawk maps:
http://ghmaps.net/greyhawk-maps/
Biggest problem with settings is getting people to purchase them. I think part of this is that so much information has been published that old players don't need to buy new stuff, new players need the old stuff but can't afford to buy and read that many books.
I've always found the problem with running in a published setting is players being very familiar with the world while as a DM being less familiar than those who have played longer than I've been alive. Because of this I tend to go with my own worlds where I feel more in control rather than published worlds where I might write away all the books making them useless while PCs complain about their favorite characters not being around or completely different than how they should be
I feel like a lot of people share this making setting books sell a lot less as most people shy away from them and a lot of their content is seen as only existing in that world and becomes not playable as a result in a lot of campaigns.
Probably the biggest proponent of Oerth/Greyhawk was Erik Mona. His Oerth Journals built upon the Gygax/Sargent materials and kept the setting updated in the dark days of 2E when Greyhawk was in Limbo. Oerth Journal Downloads . CanonFire kept the torch going after Mona moved on to create Paizo. CanonFire Mona's love the setting manifested most directly in the pages of Dragon and Dungeon Magazines when Paizo was publishing them. The Age of Worms Adventure Path in Dungeon, circa 2005-2006, was pure Greyhawk bliss. The last official WotC Greyhawk publication was Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk in 2007. Incidentally that was the last WotC product I bought until the 5E PHB seven years later. Of course, Mona won't be touching Greyhawk ever again with that whole Pathfinder/Starfinder/Creepfinder thing going.
Toril, the Forgotten Realms, once the continents on the other side of Oerth, will forever be the default world of Dungeons and Dragons. The setting has too much material, be it novels, video games, or shelves of source material going back to 1987. It is easily approachable for new players and filled with enough fantastical things to truly be a magical setting. Oerth, more precisely, the Flanaess, is too drab to grab the attention of most gamers. The setting focuses more on mundane issues. Drow, draconians, er, dragonborn, and tieflings are not going to be bumping elbows with each other at the roadside inn. (THANK BEORY!) The roadside inn is going to have more tension when the Suloise travelers arrive while the local Oeridian stock mumble that the Scarlet Assassins have arrived. *head scratch* Come on new players, isn't that AWESOME sounding? No? Okay, how about a fuddy-duddy wizard rip-off of Gandalf and skycastle, no, SKY CITIES, along with friendly dark elves and dinosaur people!!! A city built on an giant dungeon? Woot! It's adventure time.
I am resigned that Greyhawk's treatment going forward will be a token handful of paragraphs suggesting how to import a published 5E product to Oerth. That's fine. My version of Oerth is likely very different than Mona's or AnneHouse's and that's the way I like it. I don't have to worry about someone pulling out Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, circa 1993, and arguing with me my placement of an inn in Waterdeep in not correct (really happened, last time I ever ran FR btw). Greyhawk/Oerth has enough unique iconic items that I can still use them and people will recognize it's a Greyhawk game, not the Realms. Unless WotC puts White Plume Mountain in the Realms with the Yawning Portal product. Or Acererak's death dungeon is now on the Sword Coast. In that case, *expletive deleted* you, WotC.
We all leave footprints in the sands of time.
Alright, kudos to WotC for not white-washing the Greyhawk history of the adventures in the Yawning Portal release. Curse words rescinded and bonus points for mentioning the The Green Dragon Inn in the Free City of Greyhawk...and seeing "Baklunish" printed in a new product. It's the simple things for Greyhawk anymore.
We all leave footprints in the sands of time.
I've predominantly played in FR, but I've taken a strong liking to Greyhawk recently. I think I just want to try something new, setting-wise, for my players. I've been looking at Pathfinder's Golarion, too (though it loses some charm because it, like FR, is very fleshed out in a sense).
I do have a question for any GH experts though -- what are the most fantastical elements/places/features of Greyhawk?
Mona's work in the Adventure Paths based in Greyhawk was amazing! I think people overlook that.